Hey everyone! It was my first week at the market for the entire month of September, and we did well. Overall our booth grossed $128.50, with an estimated net profit of $102. This week I only had the energy to bake two pies, but also made some pumpkin rolls to sell (those are easier and take less time, but sell for only slightly less than a pie). I only did one kind of cookie instead of two, and I only had one bag of granola to sell. Despite only selling half of my cashew crunch and no pumpkin bread, I was still able to sell almost $90 worth of my own goods.

I pulled out some colored chalk that I found at a garage sale to write my price sign this week. I think the illustrations add a nice touch.

Last week was also my birthday, and Hubs took me to a new farmers market to poke around. It was a smaller market, but only because all of the tents had been pushed together to make things look more attractive. There were plenty of people there. Instead of a hard-to-find market "office", there was a booth right at the front, with carts you could use to carry around produce. There was also some live music playing; two old guys with ukuleles, playing Beach Boys favorites. They did a good job. I really liked this market as a potential to sell at. The booth fee is $12 per week (slightly less for a seasonal fee) and it's held on a Tuesday evening. I don't mind working Saturday mornings, but it seems like everyone wants to have their wedding or baby shower on a Saturday, and I've had to miss some other things this year as well (or miss farmers market, and pay the $8 booth fee anyway). Almost nothing ever happens on a Tuesday night, though, so if I did this new market I would not miss as many weeks. Unfortunately the drive is about 10 minutes longer (both ways) than the drive to my current market is. But this new market seemed to have a better "vibe" than mine.

One thing I've noticed recently is that produce seems to be expensive. Maybe it's just because I'm used to getting free fruit & veggies from the garden, but apples are selling for at least $0.50 each. And it's apple season! Shouldn't they be cheap right now? Doesn't everyone have a friend of a friend with an apple tree? Medium-size pumpkins are selling for $6 or $7. The one thing I have found to be underpriced at markets are bell peppers. Walmart is charging something like $1 for green peppers and $1.67 for orange, red, and yellow peppers. I picked up four orange peppers for a dollar at the market. What a steal! I cut them into strips and froze them for stir fry and fajitas this winter. Nommy nommy!The Bottom LineIncomePies: $7.00Pumpkin Rolls: $18.00Zucchini Bread: $15.00Cashew Crunch: $5.00Granola: $5.00Cookies: $16.00Jams: $17.50Soap: $5.00

Costs of goods not sold was $5.16 as follows: 1 bag of cashew crunch ($1.21), one apple pie ($1.45) and two loaves of pumpkin bread ($2.51).

A Matter of CostIn making possible market plans for next year, I can't help but notice some glaring and subtle mistakes of 2015. The first mistake was not selling produce. Instead of spending time in my garden, I was stuck inside baking in the heat of summer. If I am doing a garden for myself anyway, why not plant a few extra plots to sell? But no, I chose to have split interests and spend half of my time doing something I would NOT normally do. When I was baking, I felt like I should have been enjoying the nice weather outside. When I was outside, I felt like I should have been in the kitchen doing prep work for farmers market.

In addition to the enjoyment factor, gardening would have cut my investment into the farmers market drastically. Instead of spending 20% of profits on ingredients, that number could have been more like 5%. Or even 1%. Seeds aren't very expensive, and we already have a nice orchard and strawberry patch here on the property.

A Matter of TimingAnother thing I've noticed is that our sales have been steadily high since late August and September. The first week of market in May and also Memorial Day weekend were good days as well, but many weeks in May, June, July and August brought in under $100. This makes me think that farmers market is very much a fall/harvest thing and not really a spring/summer thing. Would I have been better off to pay a higher booth fee and only attend September, October and a couple weeks in May?

Nobody wants baked goods in the summer, and I don't think it would be worth it to sell summer produce. Beans, peppers, zuchini, etc. do not sell for very much money. But FRUIT does! I do think it would be worth selling rhubarb, strawberries, and cherries for a few weeks in the spring, and then selling winter squash, pumpkins, apples, pears and baked goods in the fall. The only fruits growing in July are things like raspberries and blueberries, which are labor intensive to pick. I would rather just skip selling anything in July and August, and concentrate my efforts on spring and especially fall produce.

It's that time of year again! When everyone pulls out the box of Halloween/Thanksgiving/Autumn decorations and gives the house a facelift. Everyone, that is, except minimalist cheapo DIYers like me.

Last year I was committed to not spending a ton of money on Christmas decorations. 1) Because I'm a tightwad, and 2) because our apartment doesn't have a lot of storage space, and 3) because I was (and still am!) trying really hard to suppress the hoarder that lives inside of me. One of the decorations I came up with that was cheap and easy to store was a wreath of fresh evergreen branches. I used a few different kinds of greenery here on the property, some pinecones and a bow made from ribbon in my craft stash.

I decided this year to use the same idea for harvest time, but with fall colors and materials. It wasn't totally free because I bought $2.00 worth of fake flowers/leaves from the dollar store. I wanted some color that would last for many weeks.You can find nice fake flowers in garage sale free boxes or secondhand stores as well. In addition to the fake stuff, I used several different grasses, golden rod, curly dock, wild rose hips, and hot peppers from my garden. Foraging isn't just for food and medicine!

I posted the video tutorial I used for my Christmas wreath in that article, but the directions are pretty simple. After collecting materials, I used floral tape (you could use wire or anything green) to make little bunches.

Wreath material.

After making the bunches, you can lay them on the metal wreath holder thingy and wrap it with wire. You may have to add more stuff, wrap with more wire or utilize a hot glue gun to keep some things from falling off. Then when everything is done, you can tie a ribbon to the metal frame and hang it wherever you want.

Some other decorations I decided to do for fall were setting out fall-ish candles (apple pie, pumpkin spice, etc.) that I already had or bought at garage sales. I bought an $0.88 harvest-themed hand towel at Walmart to hang on our oven door in place of my cherry-themed one. Another thing I've done is put some squashes on our porch. These decorations are semi-useful and inexpensive, yet not cheap-looking banners or window clings.

What is your favorite way to decorate for fall? How do you keep yourself from buying too many decorations?

Health Care Savings- A "Big Win"Most of my articles on this blog are about saving a few dollars here and there. However, it is also important to look at big-picture spending (on things like transportation and taxes). Health insurance is a huge cost for many people in the US. I know of ladies who reluctantly leave their babies at daycare and go to work at jobs they don't like, because of "the benefits"... meaning health care.

ObamacareUnder our new health care policy, everyone is forced to buy health insurance or pay a fee/tax for not having it. The Gold, Silver and Bronze plans are based on a percentage of your annual income, as is the tax. This is great for low-income people or people with a lot of kids, but it is awful for people with no kids or a high household income. Obamacare makes everything fair and unfair at the same time. Can you imagine if Walmart charged a doctor $20 for a box of cereal, but only charged a McDonalds worker $0.50? It sounds ridiculous, but that is how Obamacare is. We all pay different amounts for the same exact care, whether we need the care or not. And if you don't use it, you end up paying for it anyway.

Imagine if the government dictated your budget. 15% for this, 25% for that, 50% for this. Actually, that is what the government already does with taxes and now Obamacare. What will be next- food? Clothes? Transportation? Will we all be forced to buy TVs, so that the poor people can afford TVs as well?

Frugal people don't buy stuff they don't need.That's the biggest issue I have with health care- I just don't need it. In the last ten years I've been to a doctor three or four times, and every single time I felt ripped off. It's not that I hate doctors, and I'm very thankful to pay for one when I need the services. It's just that most of the time you pay a lot of money for what you get, and then they try to sell you things that you don't need.

For me, it's a scary thing to receive medical care. It's not like Walmart where you walk in, buy what you need and get out. Instead, you walk in, someone else fills up your cart and then you pay the bill. There's really no personal choice or responsibility involved. I'd like to be as involved as I can be in the care of my own body, but hospitals and hospital staff just assume that nobody knows how to take care of themselves, and you're expected to just follow instructions without questioning.

Under Obamacare, all insurance plans are required to cover things I probably won't need: ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization (such as surgery), Pregnancy, maternity, and newborn care (care before and after your baby is born [IN A HOSPITAL]) Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment (this includes counseling and psychotherapy), prescription drugs, rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices (services and devices to help people with injuries, disabilities, or chronic conditions gain or recover mental and physical skills), laboratory services, preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management, pediatric services, including oral and vision care.Hmm, maybe the preventative and wellness services are something I could use! Wrong again.

Paying for Things You DO NeedSeveral months after we got married, Hubs and I started looking into an alternative to expensive health insurance (or expensive no-healthcare penalty/tax). We did not see any reason for health insurance apart from avoiding financial disaster resulting from car accidents or other emergencies. Future pregnancies (our only foreseeable health care need) would not be covered by insurance anyway if we chose to use a midwife. We rarely go to the doctor and when we do, it is affordable to just pay out of pocket. For example, the last time Hubs went to the doctor it was to remove a speck of sawdust from his eye. The last time I needed health care was to remove a wisdom tooth. We are healthy young people and don't need hundreds of dollars worth of medications or "check-ups" every month.

In the end, we chose Samaratin Ministries. Samaratin is a cost-sharing program where you publish any health care needs, and other members send you a check in the amount of their monthly "share". Shares are a flat fee and NOT determined by income. The basic monthly fee covers up to $250,000 worth of health expenses per injury/illness. If you are worried that this isn't enough, they have an optional additional program called "Save to Share" for medical costs that exceed the aforementioned limit.

We chose Samaratin after hearing good things about the program from several different families that had published needs successfully.

Cost for Samaratin MinistriesCoverage for one person under age 25 costs $140 per month ($180 for those over 25). Recently Hubs' penalty for not having insurance exceeded the cost of adding him as a Samaratin member, so we added him. Our plan now costs us $280 per month (because one of us is still under age 25). This is a better deal than any insurance plan I could find for the two of us. While Samaratin is not a true "health insurance", members are able to claim a religious exemption to the Obamacare penalty/tax. We would rather be paying for real health care costs for someone else than paying more taxes. If nothing else, joining Samaratin could be cheaper than having no health care at all.

Samaratin does not charge for each person in a family. Families of 3+ people are charged a flat fee of $405 per month. Widowed or divorced families with children are charged a flat fee of $250 per month. Note that the family with seven children is going to pay the same fee as a family with one child.

Not For EveryoneSamaratin Ministries is not a great idea for sick people or the elderly. Needs that began before you became a member are not publishable, so if you become a member and you are a diabetic, then none of your diabetes-related expenses are publishable. It is also not good for smokers, drinkers, or non-Christian people. Samaratin requires that a pastor sign your papers, and that you abstain from smoking, excessive drinking and pre- or extramarital sex. You will have to read the guidelines to see specifics, but I don't believe routine check-ups or any dental care are covered either. This helps keep the cost of shares relatively low. Samaratin actually encourages healthy moms to choose midwives over hospital births because it keeps costs low for everyone.

One more thing: Some people seem to think that it is morally wrong to take "handouts" or participate in government programs. I think this is a bunch of baloney. If I were a low-income mom I would definitely be signing up for Obamacare and also WIC and other government benefits. I don't see it as any different than digging stuff out of a garage sale free box. If it's there, take it!

That being said, I don't think we healthy people should have to pay for problems caused by excessive drinking, smoking, overeating and promiscuous sex, which constitute many of the health care costs covered by insurance. Nor should we have to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars per year because we choose not to have insurance.

Movie NightRecently Hubs and I watched a documentary called "Wait Til It's Free". I would highly recommend it to anyone who is unsatisfied with the current health care system. At the end, the filmmaker provides several solutions to overpriced medical care, bad medical care, and government interference.

IdentificationBlack walnut trees are large 50 to 150-foot trees with large compound leaves. Each leaf is 12-24" long with13-23 leaflets. Black walnut leaves are often some of the first leaves falling in autumn. They give off a spicy odor when crushed.

Black Walnut leaves and some fruits...

Black Walnut tree bark...

What you will be looking to collect is the fruit, inside of which is the nut. The nuts are covered in a warty green husk. If punctured or broken, the husk will stain fingers brown, even though it is yellow-green. When I was little, we would often play baseball with walnuts that were at this "green" stage. Most of the nuts will fall from the tree in September and October.

Harvesting & PreparationThe great thing about black walnuts is that the processing will not take an entire day. You can collect the green nuts one day (or little by little). When you have a decent amount, lay them out on the driveway and drive over them a couple times to get the husk off. Then let them sit somewhere to dry. It would be wise to wear gloves and barn or work clothes when working with the husked nuts, as they tend to stain easily.

After the nuts are dry, they should be stored for a couple weeks to let the nutmeats dry out. When you have time (perhaps when the weather gets cold), you can crack open the nuts. I use a heavy cement block/brick and a hammer. You will probably want to do this in a back room, workshop, or somewhere you can easily sweep up shells. For black walnuts, it will take a good hard whack or two to get open. After that, I've found the nutmeats are comparatively easy and quick to extract.

Black walnuts are a fabulous "survival" food. Three and a half ounces of nutmeat provides 628 calories, 20.5 grams of protein, 59.3 grams of fat and almost 15 grams of carbs.

Though they don't give as much sap as a maple tree, black walnut trees can be tapped during early Spring, and the sap boiled down to make syrup.

Medicinal ValueNutmeats are used internally to treat eczema. The green husks can be used to make a parasite tincture and are also used as a laxative. Wellness Mama says on her site that black walnut hulls are also good for easing digestive problems like flatulence and colic.

Other UsesBlack walnut wood is valuable in cabinetry and furniture making. The hulls have been used as a natural dye and ink. The nuts can be boiled to produce oil, and the inner bark makes good timber and cordage. I mentioned that walnut husks are known for killing internal parasites in people; it has also been used by many as a natural de-wormer for animals.

I wanted to write about garage sales this spring (as garage sales are more often held that time of the year), but never got around to it. Yesterday my mom and I and a couple of siblings went to a citywide garage sale event. This reminded me of the article I wanted to write. Better late than never!

Look Richer Than You Are... With Garage SalesGarage sales are my secret weapon when it comes to home decorating, clothing, and amusing myself WITHOUT a budget! I just keep all of my petty cash from odd jobs in a little coin purse, and then buy whatever I want until the money is gone. But garage sale stuff is so cheap that my purse keeps getting fatter! I only wish that everyone could realize what a great deal this is.

ClothingMany "experts" advise budgeting 4-5% of your income on clothing. For someone making a conservative $30,000 household income, 5% would be $125 per month on clothing. To be fair, let's say that this 30k household has four kids to clothe. Divide $125 between six people, and that gives each person a little over $20 to spend per month. If this family went to Walmart, they wouldn't be able to buy a much- maybe one or two items per person every month. And those items wouldn't be brand name or top quality... they'd just be run-of-the-mill Walmart clothes.

Now let's say that this family starts shopping at garage sales. All of a sudden each piece of clothing is $1-2 at the MOST. In addition to a better variety, you can also find better quality name brand clothes. If you keep buying only 10 items of clothing per month (like you have been at Walmart), the 5% budget can be cut down to 1%.

OR, perhaps you would like to keep that clothing budget at 5%, but instead of spending it all on outfits, you take the extra 4% and allocate that toward expensive shoes or something else that you really like. An extra $1200 per year could buy each family member a $100 pair of shoes and $100 coat or other purchase. And remember folks- this is a LOW income household with FOUR kids.

I can't speak for having kids because I don't have any, but there is no reason an adult (who is done growing) should have to spend more than $100 per year on clothes. Each year buy one bag of socks/underwear, and ONE quality item- shoes, coat, etc. All the rest can be free or $0.50 at a garage sale. I am no fashionista, but there are plenty of ladies out there who have great fashion blogs and Youtube channels, and I'm sure they would be happy to help you make some great outfits from someone else's cast-offs.

What Can You Find?You can find pretty much anything at a garage sale, if you wait long enough. I've found all manner of household items, clothing, jewelry, books, movies, and even consumable items like paper products. Yesterday I found a roll of Christmas toilet paper for $0.50. I just couldn't pass it up. Who wouldn't want to wipe their butt with boughs of holly?!

These are things you will never have to buy at Walmart again, with some creativity and planning. I've also found antiques and things to resell on Ebay. Ebay sales will help pay for the gas and re-fund the "garage sale money".

Now What?Even though garage sale season is over, there are some things you can plan to do for next year.

1. Be aware of "stuff" that you are buying. Ask yourself, could I get this at a garage sale? If so, put it on your garage sale list. It can be tedious, but try to make note of every single thing you buy. At the end of the year, you can look at everything you bought- and I mean every little thing- and ask yourself if that is something you can buy during garage sale season. If so, put it on your garage sale list.

2. Keep your Thursday and Friday mornings open. It's easy at the end of winter to fill up your schedule with activities and forget about garage sales. If you want to get any good deals, you'll have to go on a weekday morning. By noon or the second day, all the good stuff is gone.

3. Make a plan of what you will buy; especially kids clothing. If you want to buy all of your kid clothes at garage sales, you'll have to do a whole year's shopping in a matter of months. This is not as easy as walking into Walmart whenever little Jonny needs a new pair of pants. Note what sizes, colors and styles you will be needing in the next year. When we were little, my mom kept a boxes of clothing for several sizes larger than we were. When we grew into a new size, she would just pull out the next box. It is some work, but the savings from garage sales (even compared to thrift stores) is enormous. Do this same kind of planning for other things you might need. You could even clean out the closet and make space for it ahead of time!

4. Make a list of community-wide garage sales. In our area, every town has an annual garage sale event sometime in the spring or during their town festival. I can make a list of five to ten different towns, and then in the spring I'll keep an eye out for dates and times (unfortunately I haven't had much luck finding this information more than a few weeks ahead of time). Some city wide garage sales will be duds, but some neighborhoods will have great stuff. Shopping in a variety of towns will give you a better chance of finding what you need.

Hey everyone! I haven't made a habit of doing product reviews here on the blog, but last year I made an interesting purchase that many people have commented on and asked about. Now that I've owned a pair of Vibram FiveFingers shoes for almost an entire year, I thought it would be appropriate to give an honest review.

"Those Weird Toe-Shoes"About two years ago, I read about CrossFit and the whole gamut of things that go with it- Paleo, weightlifting, and barefoot running. I also read about these weird minimalist shoes that people were buying that had the toes separated. The shoes were supposedly better for your feet, allowing you to feel the ground and eliminate "heel striking", or putting more pressure on your heel than necessary. I've always been a sucker for good running shoes and thought about buying a pair, but they were so expensive and I wasn't sure I would like them.

Last year- a whole year after hearing about it- I asked Hubs for a pair for my birthday. We went to a couple different shoe stores and I tried some on, making note of my favorite best-fitting type. After we got home, I price shopped and bought the least expensive pair (of the model that I liked) on Amazon. With shipping, the shoes cost $89.

FitWearing FiveFingers takes a little getting used to. They sell socks that you can wear with the shoes, but many people wear them without socks. When I first tried a pair on, it felt like wearing pants with no underwear. Weird. Immediately I could tell the difference between my left and right feet. Because of the way my toes are shaped, my "middle" toe and big toe fit snug, and the other toes were loose in the shoes. My right foot especially seemed a little too long and the arch too tall for the shoe, but my left foot fit perfectly. Wearing these shoes will clue you in on how symmetrical (or asymmetrical) your feet really are.

I tried wearing some toe socks I already owned with my new shoes. Unfortunately, the toe socks had embroidered monkeys on them, and the monkeys didn't fit well between my feet and the shoes. :( In addition, the socks made my shoes feel tight and very warm, and I seemed to get blisters more easily. Because of this, I haven't worn socks with the shoes since.

The Good NewsMy new shoes were an excellent fit for our three-week trip to Guatemala. Besides my FiveFingers, the only shoes I took were a pair of flip flops (that ended up breaking about half way through). The shoes were lightweight and good for the warm Central American weather, but they were sturdy enough to do a lot of walking, even through jungles and mountains and dirty cobblestone streets. And they really stood out when we walked/swam our way through a candle-lit cave tour. Yep, we were swimming with candles through dark, rocky caves. While Hubs was battling with a broken flip flop, I was easily able to feel and grip the rocks, never worried about losing a shoe.

So the FiveFingers are lightweight for traveling and also double as water shoes. In addition, they are easy to wash and quick to dry. When we were staying at a hostel, I just took them in the shower with me and set them on the floor to catch some of the soap and water. Primitive, but it was a $6/night hostel. The shoes were mostly dry after a day.The Bad NewsThe bad news is that I live in Michigan. This means that we have snow 6-7 months out of the year, and two or three months are full of mud. This makes wearing toe shoes impractical and/or uncomfortable. So when I'm not traveling in Central America, I only get to wear my shoes half the year.Toe shoes are also not good for bike riding (bicycle OR motorcycle), so those activities are out. Nor do I wear them in the house, while gardening or doing barn chores. So that eliminates most of my daily activities.

Apart from my climate and lifestyle, there is only one other downside to these shoes, and that is the STINK. People talk about stinky feet and stinky shoes, but I'd never really experienced it. Until now, that is. Because I wear my toe shoes without socks and they aren't waterproof, the dirt and sweat collect and produce the worst stick ever, especially if you are wearing them all day. It helps if you keep your feet clean before putting them on, but still, the shoes need to be washed much more often than regular running or walking shoes.

ConclusionAre these shoes worth it? That depends. The main draw for me was 1) improving health/posture, 2) comfort, and 3) looks. Have they improved my health or the way I walk? I'm not sure. Unfortunately I don't wear them enough to know. I'm happy with the level of comfort and also the novelty factor and all of the strange looks and interesting comments I get. I've had random people stop me at the gas station and car shows to gawk at my shoes. One man I was talking to said, "I'm sorry, I can't concentrate. Those shoes are so distracting!" The FiveFingers work very well for traveling in warm climates, which is something Hubs and I plan on doing at least once a year. This is something I didn't take into account when buying the shoes, but it's a big bonus for me, personally. I'll be honest... for me this was a not-very-practical luxury purchase. I can't recommend them to someone who lives in a colder climate and spends their free time biking, and I DEFINITELY wouldn't recommend them to someone who is trying to save money or whose utmost priority is to be frugal. It can be tempting to buy health stuff because it promises to fix all of your problems, but if you are trying to get healthier I would recommend going for daily bike rides and making your own healthy food for pennies on the dollar before buying a pair of crazy-expensive shoes.But to financially stable and attention-seeking globe trotters... buy yourself a pair of these awesome shoes!

I love canning! It allows you to stretch out the natural season of (free!) fruits and vegetables. But in the hustle and bustle of harvest season, it is easy to just keep buying jars and lids and keep canning everything in sight. Today I thought I'd do a cost analysis on different canning methods and a few tips and tricks to keep canning truly frugal.

Is it a Good Deal to Can Food?Before canning anything, one must ask several questions. Why do I want to keep this food for an extended period of time? Does it lose nutritional value or flavor during the process? Could I get the same item, already canned, for a better price on sale at the grocery store?

The easiest thing to do when trying to answer these questions is 1) first decided what is good and what is not good to can, and then 2) make a price list with each food or food category. When the price of tomatoes or meat or fruit drops below X dollars per pound, THEN you stock up and freeze/can/dry it. Here is my personal price list.

Highest price I will pay for most foods:Produce: FreeBeans/Grains: $0.70/lb.Meat: $1.00/lb.

I'm not locked in to such a price list, but it helps me determine whether I should stock up or not. The other day we found chicken thighs for $0.39 per pound. We didn't have a lot of freezer room left, but I bought two 10 lb. bags anyway. It took about an hour to skin the legs and divide the drumsticks and thighs, then I was able to can 10-15 lbs and freeze the rest in reusable plastic freezer boxes. As for produce, I have a garden and orchard on the property, so there is no reason for me to buy fruits and vegetables to put up for the winter.

Freezing vs. CanningFrozen food deteriorates faster and costs more money the longer you keep it in the freezer. Having a freezer is like having a storage unit for food; the rent you pay ends up in your electric bill. Canned food can be stored almost anywhere, no electricity needed.

However, freezing does preserve more of the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. Water bath canning destroys some vitamins, and pressure canning destroys a lot more vitamins. Because of this, I choose to freeze vitamin-rich, low-acidity foods (that would require pressure canning): peppers, green beans, peas, herbs, sweet corn and some fruits.

Neither type of canning destroys minerals, however, so I don't have an issue with canning meats. In fact, pressure canning draws minerals out of bones that are canned, so it is my favorite way to make gelatinous broth. While the texture and flavor comes out a bit different, canned meat is tender and wonderful for casseroles, tacos, soups and other one-pot meals. Things I like pressure canning: meat, beans, grains (like hominy).

Cost of JarsSo now you've got a garden full of nearly-free produce. Still, consider the cost of each jar:Brand New Jar (with ring and lid): $0.71 - $0.11 lid = $0.60 per glass jar

It is entirely possible to get jars for free or cheaper than $0.60, but I frequently see people trying to sell used jars at garage sales for $1.00 each. In addition to being more expensive, sometimes used jars have chips or cracks that can prevent a good seal. Because of this, it is prudent to watch the price closely if you plan on paying for used jars.

Wide Mouth vs. Small MouthHonestly I prefer canning with wide mouth jars- they're easier to clean and easier to get the food in and out of. But both wide mouth jars and wide mouth lids are more expensive. Wide mouth jars cost $0.91 each as opposed to $0.71 per small mouth jar. Wide mouth lids cost twice as much as small mouth lids- something you should keep in mind when thinking long-term. Lids can only be used once, so you will have to buy new ones every year. Small mouth lids cost $0.11 each; wide mouth lids are $0.21 each. If you end up canning 100 jars of food every season, you could save $10 per year by simply using small mouth jars instead of wide mouth. They are more difficult to clean, but a jar brush will help a lot with that. I only use wide mouth jars for meat, which can be hard to get in and out of a small mouth jar.

Quarts, Pints, or Half-Pints?Even though there are only two of us, I still prefer to use quart jars to do some of my canning, even with things like salsa. If I'm canning a gallon of applesauce, I can use 4 quarts, 8 pints, or 16 half-pints. The cost of lids would then be $0.44, $0.88, or $1.76 respectively. If I use 16 jars instead of four, not only am I buying more lids but also washing twice as many jars. To me it makes more sense to open a quart jar and then plan several meals with that ingredient, as opposed to using two jars for two meals.

However, if I don't follow my well-planned menu, I could end up with a bunch of half-jars of food rotting in the refrigerator. For this reason, I still can with pints even though it technically costs a little more.

Water Bath or Pressure Canner?Water bath canning is definitely easier for beginners. It also processes the food at a lower temperature, thus preserving more vitamins. Unfortunately with water bath canning, you can only preserve acidic fruits/vegetables like strawberries, pineapple, peaches, pears and tomatoes. You cannot can most vegetables, meat, beans or starches with a water bath canner.

Pressure canning opens up a whole new world of food preservation for the homemaker. After I got married I bought a big scary pressure canner. My first few attempts were less than successful, but after a while I got the hang of it. I use my pressure canner mostly for beans, grains (like hominy) and meat. Pressure canning cooks the meat and draws out the gelatin. All of the fat rises to the top of the jar, so I don't have to pick it off the meat. The meat and broth are all ready to go if I want to make soup.

Gas or Electric?I won't go into specifics about gas vs. electric (because it's not like we're going to switch out stovetops for canning season). But it's important to remember energy costs when canning.

Is the Food Even Worth Canning??Last year I canned probably seven quarts of summer squash. I also froze several gallon bags of summer squash, and put summer squash in most of my frozen stir fry mixes. Needless to say, I never actually used the canned summer squash. In addition to cooking out the vitamins, pressure canning had cooked the squash (overripe by the time I picked it) to an icky, limp texture. It didn't even make good squash soup. Instead of spending $2.00 on lids and several hours preserving the squash, I should have just thrown it away.

Likewise, I don't spend any time or money canning jam. Apart from the tooth-rotting factor, it simply doesn't ever get used at our house. I have several jars of jams and jellies from when and before we got married that sit unused in the pantry, because we rarely have toast in our meal plan and that is the only thing you use jam for. I also made six or seven pints of relish last year; none of which have been opened. We are still working on a gifted jar of relish from one of Hubs' customers. Guess what you use relish for? Hamburgers and hot dogs, which we hardly ever eat. And tartar sauce, but we never have fish. So make sure you will actually USE and enjoy what you are going to can.

The Bottom LineIf you figure in the cost of a lid ($0.11) and the cost of a new jar and ring divided by ten years of use ($0.06) plus a few cents thrown in for electricity or propane, each jar of canned food costs $0.20. Hubs and I go through 3-5 jars of canned food per week, which averages out to $41.60 in yearly canning costs ($62.40 if using wide mouth jars). And that's just meat, beans and salsa for two people. Hard-core canners and those with larger families would probably spend at least $100-$200. So as you can see, "free" garden produce isn't really free after canning, and if you are buying something on sale, you need to factor in the cost of preservation for what you can't eat right away. If you are able to buy a can of beans for $0.10, you are probably better off buying it than trying to buy dried beans and can them at home.

Last year I remember seeing the small, shriveled-up fruits of an unidentified shrub and wondered if they were good for anything. Probably not, I told myself. Not enough fruit there to do anything with. Recently, however, I was able to identify this plant and discovered that it has many uses.

IdentificationCommon prickly ash is easy to identify because of its small, shriveled-looking berries. The tree is one of two members of the Rue (sometimes called Citrus) family in Michigan. The berries have a lemon-lime-orange smell to them, and the branches have small thorns. The tree is small; only 5' - 15' tall. The leaves are are 2" long with smooth edges and, like the berries, have a citrus-y smell when crushed.

You can find the Prickly Ash tree throughout Michigan in a variety of soils, but they are often found where I found mine- along forest edges and fence rows.

Medicinal UsePrickly Ash is often referred to as "toothache tree", because it contains a citrus-smelling oil called zanthoxylin, which causes numbness in the mouth. You can chew on either the fruit or the yellowish inner bark. When I was younger I would often get canker sores and use numbing gel to make talking or eating less painful. Believe me, this Prickly Ash works even better! The numbness took at least a 45 minutes to completely wear off, though at first it induces salivation (drooling) so that is somewhat annoying.

Other popular uses of Prickly Ash are to improve circulation problems like intermittent claudication, rheumatism, arthritis, and aging- or cold-related problems. The Native Americans were especially fond of this herb and used it for achy joints and sore muscles. They made teas and infusions both to drink and to bathe with.

Prickly Ash is generally considered safe to use, even for children and women who are pregnant.